For too long, gaps in supply chain visibility owing to porous regulatory scrutiny have made the gold market vulnerable to illicit trade and reputational risks, thereby making it prudent for independent precious metals authority the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) to launch its Gold Bar Integrity (GBI) database, providing real-time data verification at the point of data submission to respond to risks before they escalate.

Powered by independent Swiss technology company aXedras, the GBI database is a proactive response to the growing demand for responsible sourcing and regulatory compliance, designed to cut through the inefficiencies of manual reporting, thereby mitigating fraud risks and bringing enhanced transparency.

By consolidating reporting and introducing real-time verification, the GBI database will help eliminate bottlenecks, reduce compliance burdens and provide a clearer, more reliable picture of the gold supply chain, according to the LBMA.

The aim of the database is to modernise and digitalise the global precious metals market with the longer-term goal of providing real-time data sharing, enhanced oversight and compliance automation.

The GBI database also aligns with the LBMA’s commitment to responsible sourcing and market efficiency.

The LBMA highlights that the legacy manual submissions process through email presented significant security risks, delays and inefficiencies, noting that in a market where trust is everything, having accurate, accessible data is not only useful, it is also essential.

Right now, refiners already collect and report country-of-origin data, but the process of submitting, consolidating and verifying this information is slow and manual, often relying on spreadsheets and emails.

To eliminate the inefficiencies of delays in regulatory reviews and risk assessment, the database provides a secure, centralised platform where refiners can upload data directly, with plans to move to monthly reporting in 2026.

This shift will improve oversight, enhance compliance workflows and allow for faster, more informed decision-making, ensuring transparency keeps pace with the industry’s evolving needs.

Digitalisation Journey

“The LBMA GBI database is a steppingstone towards industry-wide digitalisation, fostering increased trust and transparency,” says aXedras CEO Urs Röösli.

With numerous producers having already implemented software solutions provided by aXedras, he says that this partnership is able to build on these milestones.

Unlike centralised data management systems, aXedras’ platform – the Bullion Integrity Ledger, makes use of a private and permission-based business-to-business network, where only reputable precious metals companies can access and interact with each other.

The aXedras platform leverages distributed ledger technology to digitalise and record activities on an immutable ledger, meaning that data cannot be altered once confirmed, thereby enabling trusted data to be shared among business partners and members.

Each organisation remains in control of its data and documents and shares them with its business partners according to transactional needs.

The GBI database was developed by aXedras according to the latest cybersecurity standards and following best practices in software development.

All data and documents reported to the LBMA GBI database, which can be uploaded by the Good Delivery List (GDL) refiners and custodians, have to follow specific formats to be accepted in the database.

The cryptographic components ensure that only one specific GDL refiner has the right to upload data on its behalf and it can only view its own data and not that of third parties.

The onboarding of LBMA members to the GBI database is well underway, with 85% of GDL refiners having already been engaged.

The response has been positive, and there is strong industry momentum. Training, direct support and ongoing refinements will continue throughout 2025 to ensure a smooth transition. With this progress, LBMA is confident they will all be onboarded by year-end.